Pretty in Pink Review

The Good

Two modes (timed and relaxed). Upbeat nostalgic music and scenes from the movie. Game can be replayed with different hidden object screens. You can choose the outcome of the story. Enjoyable even if you haven't seen the movie.

The Bad

Minor glitches. Some objects are very tiny and hard to click on. Some may not like the game's deviation from the movie's storyline.

Pretty in Pink is a hidden object/puzzle game based on the classic 1986 movie of the same name, where Andie and Blane, two teens from opposite financial and social backgrounds, fall in love and have to deal with intense pressure from peers who don’t want their two worlds to mix. Iona, Steff, and Duckie are back as well, bringing 80’s nostalgia to your computer. Can love survive intense peer pressure? Can people from different social backgrounds make love work? Can we ever recover from the hair and clothes of the 80’s? Pretty in Pink has the answers.

Pretty in Pink is the story of boy and girl from opposite sides of the tracks that meet and fall in love, which causes havoc in their social circles. Andie is beautiful, intelligent, and has great fashion sense. She makes stylish clothes out of desire and necessity since she and her father live in poverty on the other side of town, and attends a prestigious high school on scholarship while working at a record store to earn money.

Blane is popular, good looking and wealthy but is weak to social pressures. The two meet and it’s love at first sight, but there’s nothing easy in this relationship. Blane’s best friend Steff tells him at every turn that Andie is beneath him. Secretly, he has a crush on Andie and is furious she is the only possession he cannot acquire. Duckie (Phillip) is Andie’s quirky, geeky best friend and neighbor that has an intense love for Andie and is crushed that the love is not reciprocated… or is it?

Pretty in Pink is told in narrative form with a mix of photographs and hand drawn characters that look similar to their movie counterparts. Following the "play a level then read the story" format, you will find a mix of hidden object screens and mini-games of matching, spot the difference, assemble the picture, and logic puzzles.

The hand-drawn hidden object screens list items at the top you must find along with a "silhouetted item" that contributes to the fabric choices for Andie’s Prom gown. Important to the outcome of the story are the rubber duckies and sports cars hidden in each scene. The more of these you accumulate, the more control you have over the storyline. At the end you will design the dress Andie wears to the Prom.

Some puzzles consist of cooking meals. You are given a recipe and must add ingredients in the proper order according to instructions like, "the salt is put in after the eggs" and "the milk is put in before the salt."

As a fan of this movie I was excited to see if the game could hold true to the movie’s magic. Overall I liked playing Pretty in Pink, but as far as how it was adapted from the movie, I was disappointed and confused by some of the developer’s choices. If you haven’t seen the movie, there may be some confusion following the storyline, and if you have, you may be irritated that some of the best parts are altered.

The hidden object screens were challenging but not short on problems. There were some items so tiny I had to click on them several times before they cleared. I also encountered a glitch where the pink graphic effect appearing whenever you choose a correct item would continue to run after the item clicked on disappeared. The game also locked up a couple of times, requiring me to restart.

The game isn’t boring and gives you a lot to do, such as helping Andie clean her room, finding things for school, preparing breakfast and working in the record store. The option to construct Andie’s prom dress as in the movie was clever but disappointing. I put together several dresses and I could not find one that looked flattering. I was also confused that the dress could be designed in colors other than pink. Isn’t this based on "Pretty in Pink?" Maybe the developers should have left that detail alone as it is the pink dress which is the pivotal event upon which the movie is named.

I enjoyed the music, which is the instrumental melody of "Pretty in Pink" (originally sung by The Psychedelic Furs), as it added to the nostalgia of the game. I have to say I was most surprised that you could change the ending of the story. If you didn’t like who ended up with who in the movie, you can have the ending you always wanted.

I would recommend Pretty in Pink to those who like challenging hidden object games and die hard fans of the movie with caution that there are a few glitches that, while annoying, don’t effect gameplay too much.